Nicholas and Alison encountered each other for the first time in the intimacy of a bedroom, oblivious to the fact that she was his spouse, a woman he had been married to for two years yet had never laid eyes on. After he was back in his homeland, the powerful magnate Nicholas found himself intrigued by Alison, a lawyer celebrated for her striking appearance and sharp intellect. Faced with Nicholas' advances, Alison responded with composure, "Mr. Bowman, I am already married." Following their separation, Alison offhandedly brought up her former husband. "His name was Nicholas Bowman."
Inside a dimly-lit hotel suite, Alison Conley, panting, raised her head and clung limply to the man on top of her, her fingers digging into his back, leaving a trail of intimate red marks.
Later on, as dawn broke and the sound of running water echoed from the bathroom, Alison's eyes fluttered open. Fragments of the previous night returned to her-she had been drugged with some kind of aphrodisiac and ended up sleeping with a drunk man.
His handsome face lingered in her memory, a face she felt she had seen before.
As she was gathering her bearings, the water stopped, and then the bathroom door creaked open.
A tall man stepped out with nothing but a bath towel wrapped low around his waist. Water dripped from the strands of hair on his forehead, trailing down his chiseled torso and meandering into his V-line. In a word, he looked like a seductive Greek god.
Alison propped herself up, wincing as her sore body ached, and stared at the man's perfectly handsome face. Suddenly, her heart skipped a beat.
Shit! How could it be him? No wonder he looked so familiar!
The man before her was none other than her husband, Nicholas Bowman. He had gone abroad two years ago, since the beginning of their marriage.
However, while she clearly recognized Nicholas, he seemed to have no recollection of who she was.
Ironic, indeed.
When Alison was only fifteen, her father had passed away, and soon after, her mother remarried. Then, her half-brother, Samuel Powell, was born, adding another layer to her complicated life.
In the year of her graduation, Alison's life took a turn for the worse. Her stepfather's business hit rock bottom, forcing them to seek help from the influential Bowman family. Geoffrey Bowman, the formidable patriarch, seized the opportunity to bring up the long-forgotten arranged marriage between their families, using it as a condition before offering any financial support.
Alison's stepsister, defiant and headstrong, flat-out refused the arranged marriage and fled, leaving chaos in her wake.
Desperation drove Alison's mother to push her forward, insisting that she would make a good match for Nicholas.
At that time, Geoffrey was gravely ill, and he yearned to see his grandson wed before kicking the bucket. He pulled every string to ensure the marriage happened.
However, the ever stubborn Nicholas despised the idea of a wife being forced upon him. He even sent his assistant, Joshua Fletcher, to handle the marriage registration, avoiding Alison throughout the whole process.
As soon as the marriage became official, Nicholas left for a business venture abroad, leaving Alison with nothing but a promise-that after two years, they would get a divorce.
Two years had passed. Alison had caught wind that Nicholas had returned from abroad, but never expected their first encounter would be in bed.
"You'd better keep your mouth shut." As Nicholas spoke, he gestured at the check on the bedside table.
A check to buy her silence? Alison fumed silently. This man was humiliating her.
On ordinary days, she would catch fleeting glimpses of him on television. He always appeared untouchable, exuding an air of aristocratic elegance, as if the mundane troubles of the world could never reach him.
Two years ago, he had left before even seeing his wife, making Alison the town's laughingstock.
Anger and a flicker of vengeful resolve burned within Alison. Clenching her fists, she suddenly felt determined to shatter his facade and watch him crumble in embarrassment.
Alison rose gracefully from the bed, draping a loose bathrobe around her shoulders. She flipped her hair back with a flourish and let out a playful whistle at Nicholas, calling his attention. Then, she plucked the check from the bedside table and tore it in half, tossing the pieces into the trash can.
This action was undoubtedly a provocation to Nicholas.
Sure enough, Nicholas' expression darkened. His eyes locked onto hers as he asked in a dangerously low voice, "What? Was that amount not enough for you?"
Alison's lips curled into a mocking smirk. "Last night was just a game between adults. No need to try and buy my silence."
She paused, her smile turning seductive. "What's the matter, sir? Can't handle the stakes?"
Nicholas' expression turned even more sinister. With a slight, menacing smile playing at the corners of his mouth, he looked like Satan incarnate, exuding an icy aura that sent shivers down her spine.
Nicholas was notoriously ruthless, and it was no secret that those who crossed him never met a good end.
Despite the fear creeping in, Alison plucked up the courage to step forward, even going so far as to jab a finger at Nicholas' chiseled chest. "To be honest, I was quite satisfied with your performance last night. Are you offering a monthly package? Name your price."
June Rivera was divorced by her husband after three years of marriage because he wanted to be with her sister who was pregnant for him. Kicked to the curb with a divorce and rejected by her parents,she struggles to make ends meet and get a job until she saves Luis Ambrose from an accident - the only child of Rafael Ambrose, a widowed man and the CEO of Ambrose Corporation. When little Luis asks to have her as a nanny, and Rafael's mother pressures him to get married, they draw a contract. To be Luis's nanny and his fake wife for one year in exchange for 50 million dollars!
Yelena discovered that she wasn't her parents' biological child. After seeing through their ploy to trade her as a pawn in a business deal, she was sent away to her barren birthplace. There, she stumbled upon her true origins—a lineage of historic opulence. Her real family showered her with love and adoration. In the face of her so-called sister's envy, Yelena conquered every adversity and took her revenge, all while showcasing her talents. She soon caught the attention of the city's most eligible bachelor. He cornered Yelena and pinned her against the wall. “It's time to reveal your true identity, darling.”
After spending a night with a strange man on the day before her wedding, Arianna left the country to start her life afresh. The 22-year-old Arianna Jason lived her life pleasing those she loved the most, without knowing that she was simply a prey being nurtured for the day of her ruin. Her life has tasted the butter pill of betrayal. She wants to give back to the world what she's got but how can she change her good, innocent personality to fit into a cruel society and world? Can her sweet nature be contaminated, or will she make it through, paddling on the right path?
The day Raina gave birth should have been the happiest of her life. Instead, it became her worst nightmare. Moments after delivering their twins, Alexander shattered her heart-divorcing her and forcing her to sign away custody of their son, Liam. With nothing but betrayal and heartbreak to her name, Raina disappeared, raising their daughter, Ava, on her own.Years later, fate comes knocking when Liam falls gravely ill. Desperate to save his son, Alexander is forced to seek out the one person he once cast aside. Alexander finds himself face to face with the woman he underestimated, pleading for a second chance-not just for himself, but for their son. But Raina is no longer the same broken woman who once loved him.No longer the woman he left behind. She has carved out a new life-one built on strength, wealth, and a long-buried legacy she expected to uncover.Raina has spent years learning to live without him.The question is... Will she risk reopening old wounds to save the son she never got to love? or has Alexander lost her forever?
After hiding her true identity throughout her three-year marriage to Colton, Allison had committed wholeheartedly, only to find herself neglected and pushed toward divorce. Disheartened, she set out to rediscover her true self-a talented perfumer, the mastermind of a famous intelligence agency, and the heir to a secret hacker network. Realizing his mistakes, Colton expressed his regret. "I know I messed up. Please, give me another chance." Yet, Kellan, a once-disabled tycoon, stood up from his wheelchair, took Allison's hand, and scoffed dismissively, "You think she'll take you back? Dream on."
Bailey seems to be never destined to fit in, a little geeky, but under it all, a hidden beauty that so many seem to miss, but still not what her pack Alpha is looking for in a fated mate... so he is determined to reject her and make her life hell. Bailey, knowing her life will likely never be the same focuses on what she can control, her future, and heads off to study; becoming a teacher. Asher is the Beta of Autumn Valley Pack, a neighbouring pack. A broken man having suffered the loss of his mate after a rogue attack, Asher is slowly crumbling. Falling to pieces. A shadow of his former self, and not a man that anyone wants to be around anymore... Until, Autumn Valley Pack require a new teacher, and Bailey finds herself there and pushed together with the Beta. Is there a connection building or is that in their imaginations? And what will happen when Bailey's mate comes back to claim what is his?